TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed on Saturday on the need to fortify their countries' alliance amid a tougher regional security environment, a Japanese government official said.

       Hayashi and Blinken, who held talks on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers in the English city of Liverpool, did not discuss the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the official told reporters.

       (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Gareth Jones)